Maine Revised Statutes

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 36, § 996 (2026)

Distraint before tax due to prevent loss

✓ current as of May 2026
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When a tax collector has reason to believe that there is danger of losing, by delay, a tax assessed upon any taxpayer, at any time after commitment:  
1.  Warrant issued.  The tax collector may issue the warrant provided for in section 994 prior to the expiration of the 3-month period;  
[PL 2025, c. 113, Pt. D, §56 (AMD).]
2.  When served.  The tax collector may in the warrant authorized by section 994, or in subsection 1, direct the law enforcement officer to demand immediate payment, and, if not paid, the officer shall serve such warrant without further notice;  
[PL 2025, c. 113, Pt. D, §56 (AMD).]
3.  When notice period unexpired.  The tax collector may, after the issuance of the warrant pursuant to subsection 1, in writing direct the law enforcement officer to whom the warrant has been issued to demand immediate payment, and, if not paid, to serve such warrant without further notice notwithstanding any unexpired portion of the 10-day notice period required by section 995; or  
[PL 2025, c. 113, Pt. D, §56 (AMD).]
4.  Distrain or arrest.  The tax collector may personally demand immediate payment and upon failure may distrain the property or arrest the person of such taxpayer.  
[PL 2025, c. 113, Pt. D, §56 (AMD).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 2025, c. 113, Pt. D, §56 (AMD).
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1 case, 1975–1975 · leading case: Capitol Bank & Trust Co. v. City of Waterville, 343 A.2d 213 (Me. 1975).
Capitol Bank & Trust Co. v. City of Waterville, 343 A.2d 213 (Me. 1975). “The agreement between the Bank and the City, wherein “the city fore-goes its right to distrain and sell,” albeit stated to be under 36 M.R.S.A. § 996, purports only to bind the City of Waterville.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.